Well surveying instrument



July 3, 1951 R. RING WELL SURVEYING INSTRUMENT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 16, 1945v i wr BY j,

July 3, 1951 R. RING 2,559,373

WELL SURVEYING INSTRUMENT Filed NOV. 16, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 f al / i Ik BY` l 7 l /EZLAMQ v IN VENTOR.

July 3, 1951 Filed Nov. 16, 1945 R. RING WELL SURVEYING INSTRUMENT 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 mwa/Wa@ @ae/vaya.

Patented July 3, 1951 WELL SURVEYING INSTRUMENT Roland Ring, Houston, Tex., assignor to Sperry- Sun Well Surveying Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application November 16, 1945, Serial No. 629,052

' (ci. zoo-ss) 7Claims. 1

This invention relates to a well surveying instrument, and has particular reference to an improved timing means for controlling the operation of such an instrument.

While, as will be pointed out hereafter, the invention is applicable to instruments of various types, including those in which recording occurs photographically, the invention has been particularly designed for control of an instrument having a slow and continuous marking action.

In the patent to Roland Ring 2,246,319, dated June 1'7, 1941, and in an application of said Roland Ring Serial No. 379,835, filed February 20, 1941, now abandoned, there are described an instrument and methods of operating the same, which "instrument is characterized by a slow and continuous marking action, specifically electrolytic in character, whereby a record of the position of the instrument within a bore hole is made only when the instrument remains stationary for an extended period of time. Fora better understanding of the nature of the present invention, which is not, however, limited for its application to said instrument of the above mentioned patent and application, the operation of said Ring instrument may be described as follows:

If the instrument is run into a bore hole, either within -a drill stem or in an open hole by means of a wire line or cable, the movements of the instrument incidental to its descent into the hole cause a pendulum to move about relative to a record member, so that even though current is continuously owing from the pendulum to the rrecord member, no point of the record member isexposed to the current action for a. suiliciently long time to receive a definite marking. When the instrument reaches the level at which a record of inclination is to be made, it is brought to rest and held in such position for a period of upwards of about one minute, with the result that the electrolytic action is concentrated at one point of the record member and an easily distinguishable spot is made thereon. If it is then desired to make one or more additional records at other levels, the instrument is moved to these successive levels and permitted to remain at them for diierent periods of time, with the result that marks differing in intensity and/or size are produced which, by their nature, can be identified with the particular levels through a knowledge of the relative times during which the instrument was stationary. Following the completion of the record or records, the instrument is then withdrawn continuously from the hole and in this withdrawing movement.

as well as in the periods of movement between the successive recordings, the pendulum will swing relative to the record member so that again no obliterating markings are produced.

In the case of operation of the above type, the instrument is perfectly satisfactory and requires no timing means whatever. However, a common practice in the making of records with other types of surveying instruments involves their being dropped freely through a drill stem so that they come to rest in a position adjacent the bit. During this location in a position of rest, a record is made under the control of suitable timing means and the instrument is then recovered when the bit is brought to the surface, for example for the purpose of changing the bit or checking its condition.

In the use of said Ring instrument in go-devil fashion, the motion of the instrument through the drill stem prevents the making of any record during its fall, and a record is then made by holding the drill stem stationary for a suilicient period of time while the instrument rests adjacent the bit. If the drill stem was then raised and dismantled by continuous work of the drilling crew, the instrument would be subject to sufficient continuous agitation, with only quite limited periods of rest, so that no record obliterating markings would be produced on the record member. However, it is not usual for a derrick crew to Work continuously in removing a drill stem from deep holes, and generally speaking, even if some mechanical reason for delay does not occur, the workmen, after raising the dril stem part way, will take a short period of rest before proceeding further. If an instrument of the Ring type is in the drill stem during such a period of rest, or any other period of stationary condition of the drill stem, it will be obvious that another record will be made which might be indistinguishable from the desired record unless a substantially different time of rest is involved, and even then in some rare instances, particularly where the hole is substantially straightthe two records may overlap so that the significance oi the original one is lost. It is generally not desirable to rotate the drill stem during such a period of interruption of its withdrawal, and consequently, such rotation is not a practical solution to the problem.

The present invention relates to a timing means of improved construction, which is highly reliable in operation and which may be adapted for the control of various types of well surveying instruments. In particular, the timing means Y l s y is adaptedfor terminating the recording actio of a recording'instrument `of the Ring .or other type'fata desired time. y

This and-o A ticularly relating to detalls, will become apparent from the following. description, read in conjunction with the accompanying.` drawings, in which:

Figures 1A, 1B and. 1C are, respectivelylongitudinal sectional views through the lower, .cen-` tral and upper portions of a well surveying in. strument embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken at right angles to the preceding views and showing the upper portion of the instrument with certain parts in elevation rather than section;

Figure 3 is a. transverse section taken on the plane the trace of which is indicated at 3--3 in Figure 1B;

Figure 4 is a transverse section taken on the plane the trace of which is indicated at 4 4 in Figure 1C;

Figure 5 is a. fragmentary sectional view illustrating a modication of the invention adapted for the purpose of controlling both the make and the break of an electric circuit; and

Figures 6 and 1 are diagrams illustrating the mode of operation of the modilication illustrated in Figure 5.

The instrument illustrated in the drawing is basically of the type disclosed in said Ring application and comprises an inner casing adapted to be located in a fluid-tight protective casing in use. The inner casing comprises tubes 2, 4 and 6, together with a cap 8 having a T-slct arranged to engage a supporting bolt in the protective casing in the usual fashion. 'I'he tubes 2, 4 and 6 are joined by coupling members 9 and |0, and the cap 8 is threaded on the exterior of a coupling member secured to the upper end of the tube 6. Threaded into the bottom of the tube 2 is a plug i2 on which may be secured the record member |6 by means of a threaded ring H, though the record member may be secured in the plug, for example, by depression within a flanged portion thereof. This record member, as described in detail in said Ring patent and application, preferably comprises a sheet of paper containing a colored material such as a colored -metallic ferrocyanide which,

upon the passage of an electrical current while sulating ring 24 prevents short circuiting by preventing contact of the pendulum with the metallic wall of the tube 2.

'Ihe bearing 20 is mounted at the lower end of a cylindrical pin 2| which extends through an opening in the coupling member 9 and is insulated therefrom as indicated. Within pin 2| there is a resistor 26, the lower lead of which is soldered within an opening in the pin 2| while the upper lead of this resistor is electrically connected to a contact button 28 on which may rest the bottom of the lowermost'of a group of batteries 30 arranged in series in ilashlight fashion and held within an insulating tube 32.

A contact pin 34 is urged downwardly into engagement with the positive pole of the uppermost battery by means of a spring 36, the pin and spring being mounted in an insulating assembly 38 in the coupling |0. Located above the coupling |0 is a clockwork mechanism inerfobJeots-of the invention, parandere dicated generally at 40, which comprises a pair 'lef plates az end u which et their upper ends are secured to an extension il' ci the coupling il. 'At their lower ends these plates are secured to a spacing member 46 iii-which is located an insulating bushing carrying a, metallic pin 50 having a lower ange whichfenga-ges the spring 36,. A shaft .'i2 projects upwardly from the clockwork mechanism and isv connected through bevel gears 5l to the gear train 56 which in turn is controlled'by the `escapement mechanism 58, the -pin wheel60. and the hair spring 62 of the clockwork mechanism. This clockwork mechanism is of conventional construction and is desirably rugged,res embling toa considerable extent the clockwork mechanism of an. alarm clock'.

This is in contrast to the usually used'circuit controlling mechanism of watch-like construc-- tion, which is delicate and easily subject to damage by the abuse which is given to well survey-4 ing instruments by the drilling crews;

a disc 6I, which is secured to a knob member 12 by means of a clamp plug 13. Pinned to the shaft beneath the disc 64 is a gear 66 provided with teeth which are arranged to be engaged by a single tooth 16 mounted in the knob 12. Beneath the gear 66, the shaft 52 is surrounded by a sleeve 68 which is provided with a squared portion 1|| extending through a corresponding square opening in the lower end of the knob 12 so that while this sleeve and the knob may be subjected to relative sliding movement, they are constrained to rotate together. A spring 14 reacts between the lower end of the knob 'I2 and the lower surface of the gear 66.

A housing located within the coupling and locked thereto by a screw 8| provides a chamber for the reception of a strong spiral spring 18, the ends of which are, respectively, anchored to the housing 80 and the sleeve 68. This spring is under an initial tension serving to hold the sleeve 68 in a counterclockwise direction relative to the coupling to a limiting position dened by engagement of a pin 84 seeures in the sleeve sa with e 'pin a2 secured in` the coupling This sleeve 68 has a barrel extension 86 which is surrounded at its lower portion by a ring 88 of silver or other good contact material. Both the barrel 86 and the ring 68 are interrupted by a slot 30, the counterclockwise side of which, as indicated at Figure 3, is bounded by a bevel 9|. A spring 32 reacts between a collar 96, pinned to the shaft 52, and a washer 84 located in the barrel 86.

A spring arm 98 carrying a contact button |00 at its upper end is mounted on an insulating support |02 secured to the side plate 42 of the clockwork mechanism. The arrangement is such that when the apparatus is in its non-operating condition, the contact button |00 is located within the notch 90, as indicated in Figure 3, in such position as to be engaged and cammed outwardly by the bevel 9| when the barrel 86 is rotated clockwise.

An insulated wire |04 joins the spring contact 88 with the upper end of the pin 60.

The exterior of the knob 12, the upper portion of which is knurled, is provided with markings |06 graduated in terms of minutes. These markings are read against a zero index marking |08 on the upper end of the coupling For these markings to be visible, of course, the cap 0 is removed. The cap 8 serves as a protection for The upper end of the shaft 52 has journalled thereon.

the knob lli which during the operation of the instrument must be free to rotate.

In the operation of this instrument, a moistened disc l0 is located in position on the bottom plug I2 which is then threaded into the lower end of the instrument. Even if the pin 22 is in contact with the record disc Il and even if the contact at Ill was made, the normal handling movements of the instrument will prevent the making of any record. due to the fact that the electrolytic recording action is quite slow. However, the instrument is also such that when in verted, the pin 22 will drop within the pendulum away from the record disc so that operation may be prevented merely by inverting the instrument. Of course, normally until contact is made by the contact arm 80, the circuit of the instrument is opened.

The next step in the operation of the instrument involves the setting of its time of operation. This is accomplished by pullingy the knob 12 outwardly and rotating it until the desired time indication is opposite the index |00. When the knob 12 is pulled outwardly, the tooth 16 is disengaged from between the teeth of the gear Si, the spring 1I being compressed in this action. As the knob 12 is rotated, the shaft 52 may then remain stationary. The rotation of the knob causes corresponding rotation of the sleeve 68 and winding of the strong. spring with movement of the stop pin Il clockwise away from the stop pin 02. When sutlicient rotation has been accomplished, the knob 12 is permitted to slide inwardly under the action of spring 14 and reengagement of the gear i0 and the tooth 16 takes place. It may be noted that the gear 00, as illustrated, has only a relatively small number lof teeth so that the successive positions of engagement with the tooth 16 are substantially angularly spaced. This, of course, means that the time setting cannot be made to a high degree of accuracy in this instrument. However, as will be pointed out hereafter, this is of no consequence and an error of about two minutes which might be here involved is quite permissible. If, however, a greater accuracy of time setting is required, it is only neces- -sary that the gear i0 should have a larger number of teeth in which case for purposes of strength, a plurality of teeth may be substituted for the single tooth 1G.

During the setting rotation of the knob 12, the barrel 0i will be rotated clockwise so as to cam the button III upon the contact ring 80. When contact is thus made, it will be evident that the electric circuit through the pin 22 and the disc I6 is completed if they are in contact.

Following the setting, as above described, it will be evident that the spring 18 is now iixedly coupled to the shaft 52 so as to drive the clockwork mechanism, and the run-down rate of the shaft 52 is controlled by the escapement. Accordingly, there is thus provided a predetermined delay before the recording circuit will again be opened.

The cap l is then threaded upon the coupling Il to protect the knob and prevent interference with its rotation. The instrument is then ready to be secured in the protective casing by engagement of the bolt thereon with the T-slot.

Upon water-tight closure of the protective casing, the instrument may then be dropped through the drill stem. As it passes down the drill stem, the'continuous agitation which occurs will cause the pendulum I8 to move about in such fashion that no record will be made during the descent. When the instrument reaches its position adjacent to the bit, the pendulum will come to rest and the instrument is permitted to remain at rest for a period suflicient for the formation of a record. The drill stem may then be withdrawn, the withdrawal being interrupted as desired for the production of additional records, as indicated above.

Finally when single or last record has been made, the drill stem is withdrawn with consequent agitation of the instrument until such time elapses as would be required for the opening of the circuit by reason of the fact that the notch comes to a position to receive the contact button |00. Thereafter it is immaterial whether or. not the drill stem is continuously withdrawn. f It will now be evident the considerations which govern the time setting of the clockwork mechamsm.

An estimate is made of the time which will elapse from the instant the setting is completed through the assembly, lowering. and recording actions. This time, with a suitable addition to take care of delays over those estimated, constitutes the time for which the clockwork mechanism is set. To avoid duplication of records, it is only necessary that after the recording takes place the instrument should be kept in motion for a suflicient time to permit the recording circuit to be broken.

The construction of the improved time mechanism eliminates any friction clutch means between the driving spring and the escapement mechanism, the drive being positive so that despite jarring or any other condition which might normally produce slippage in a friction connection, there can be no undesired displacement within the mechanism which might tend to shorten the time of its operation.

The spring 92 through the washer 94 imposes friction on the relative movements of the sleeve 68 and the shaft 52 during the time of setting when these two elements are not positively connected. During the time of their positive connection, there is no relative friction between them imposed by the spring 92 since it reacts between parts which are simultaneously rotating at the same rate of speed. During the setting, however, the friction imposed by the spring 92 prevents accidental slippage in case the grip of v the operator slips, i. e., the friction is suflicient to prevent the unwinding of the spring when the tooth 'Ii is disengaged from the teeth of the gear 66. From the standpoint of this operation, it should be noted that the shaft 52 is effectively stationary since its rotation is controlled by the escapement mechanism.

But the improved timing mechanism is particularly advantageous in the type of instrument heretofore described, particularly because of its compact nature whereby it may be incorporated in an instrument of very small diameter. It may also be used for the reliable timing of other well surveying instruments such as those which involve photographic recording and require that a circuit shall remain opened for a predetermined period while the instrument is being located in recording position followed by a closure of the circuit for a short period, this being in turn followed by the opening of the circuit. Figures 5. 6 and 7 illustrate the adaption of the invention to such use, there being shown only suilicient parts to illustrate the differences which exist over that previously described in detail.

Referring first to Figure 5, there is indicated at IIII a drum which may take the position of the drum 86 previously described, all of the driving mechanism associated with this drum, though not shown in Figure 5, being identical with that previously described. This drum carries a pair of pins II2 and II4, the former of which should be insulated either by its formation of insulating material, or by its being carried by an insulating insert or portion of the drum IIB. The pin II4 is arranged to act upcn a flexible spring contact member I I6 while the pin I I2 acts upon a similar member I I8. The spring IIB carries contact button |28 (Figures 6 and 7) while the spring II8 carries contact button or lug |25, these buttons being formed of silver or other good contact material. The springs II6 and II8 are mounted on the plate |20 of the timing mechanism, which corresponds to the plate 42 previously described. The spring II6 is mount;d on a metallic block carried by the plate |20 through the medium of screws passing through slots I2I which make possible the adjustment of the spring I I6 in the direction of its length. This spring is electrically grounded. The other spring IIB, however, is insulated by being mounted upon an insulating block |22. An electrical connection |24 passes to the ungrounded side of the electrical circuit, which may be of any conventional type including lamps and batteries.

The action of the mechanism of Figure 5 will be understood from consideration of Figures 6 and '7. Assume that the run-down condition of the device involves the location of pins II2 and II4 in the positions Po, Qa, i. e., those positions which correspond to engagement of the equivalent of stop pins 82 and 84. In the setting of the apparatus, the drum IIO is turned clockwise, as in the previously described modification, so that the pins move in the direction of the arrow in Figure 6. During this setting movement, the arrangement is such that no contact is made as will be clear from the following discussion.

The springs IIB and II8 are such that in this unflexed condition, the contact brttons |25 and |28 are separated. As the pins move to'the positions P1, Q1, substantially simultaneous contacts are made by them with the upper ends of the springs. As will be noted from the figures, the spring IIB projects only slightly beyond the path of pin II2, while spring IIB projects to a greater extent beyond the path of the pin H4. From lfthe position P., Q1 to the position P2, Q2, thesprings are simultaneously flexed and the buttons remain out of contact in this position. However, the spring II8 is about to be releaszd by the pin II2 so that as this position is passed the spring IIB will snap to its vertical position. The spring II6, however, is not released until the pins reach the position P3, Qs, whereupon the release of the spring IIG will permit it to snap to its vertical position. In this last movement, of course, the buttons may momentarily engage due to overrun of the spring IIS. However. this contact is of such small duration that the lamps, due to their thermal inertia, will not be illuminated or if they are, the illuminaticn will be a mere momentary flash incapable of producing an exposure. Beyond the positions P3, Qs, the pins are then rotated to the setting position for the time which should elapse before operation occurs.

The timing mechanism then begins to rundown and the pins now move in the direction of the arrow in Figure 7. In this reverse movement, the pins first engage the contact springs when they occupy the positions P4, Q4. The springs are then again simultaneously flexed until the position P5, Q5 is reached, at which time the spring IIB is released by its pin II2. When so released, it snaps to the left so that the contact buttons are engaged, inasmuch as the spring IIB by reason of its extension above the pin II4 has f not been released.

If further movement occurs toward the position Pe, Qs, the pin II4 flexes the spring IIS further to the right and through the engagement of the contact buttons the spring IIS is carried therewith. When the positions Pe, Qsare reached, however, the spring IIB is released and consequently both springs may snap to their vertical positions. It follows that the electrical circuit is closed between the positions Ps. Qs and positions Ps, Qs. The interval of this circuit closure may be adjusted, within limits, by the vertical adjustment of the spring IIB on its support. Finally, the pins come to rest in an original position, such as Po. Qc. this position corresponding to the stopping of the clockwork mechanism.

As a result of the above action, it will be evident that except for possible momentary contact, the only operating contact occurs following the desired interval of delay of the recording action.

The springs are preferably made sufiiciently stiff that vibrations of the instrument during lowering and raising thereof will not cause the contacts to close. However, even if they do, due to vibration, the contacts so made will be momentary, and if the filaments of the lamps are lighted at all, such lighting will occur only in flashes of insufficient duration to effect any recording action.

It will be clear from the above that variations may be made in the construction without departing from the principles and advantages thereof. Accordingly, the invention is not to be regarded as restricted, except as required by the following claims.

What I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination, a switch arranged to control an electrical circuit, and mechanism for controllingv said switch, said switch comprising a rotary member, and said mechanism comprising a spring operatively connected to said rotary member for driving said rotary member, an escapement, a rotary element controlled by said escapement, and disengagable clutching means for positively clutching said rotary member to said rotary element so that movement of the rotary member is controlled by the escapement and for disengaging said rotary member from said rotary element so that the rotary member may be manually rotated forwardly or backwardly for winding or unwinding said driving spring.

2. In combination, a switch arranged to control an electrical circuit, and mechanism for controlling said switch, said switch comprising a rotary member, and said mechanism comprising a spring operatively connected to said rotary member for driving said rotary member, an escapement. a rotary element controlled by said escapement, and disengagable clutching means for positively clutching said rotary member to said rotary element so that movement of the rotary member is controlled by the escapement and for disengaging said rotary member from said rotary element so that the rotary member may be manually rotated forwardly or backwardly for winding or unwinding said driving spring while presetting the time of operation of the switch.

3. In combination, a switch arranged to control an electrical circuit, and mechanism for controlling said switch, said switch comprising a rotary member, and said mechanism comprising a spring operatively connected to said rotary member for driving said rotary member, and escapement, a rotary element controlled by said escapement, disengagable clutching means for positively clutching said rotary member to said rotary element so that movement of the rotary member is controlled by the escapement and for disengaging said rotary member from said rotary element so that the rotary member may be manually rotated forwardly or backwardly for winding or unwinding said driving spring and means frictionally opposing relative movement between the rotary member and the rotary element.

4. In combination, a switch arranged to control an electrical circuit, and mechanism for controlling said switch, said switch comprising a rotary member, and said mechanism comprising a spring operatively connected to said rotary member for driving said rotary member, an escapement, a rotary element comprising inter-engaging toothed members for positively clutching said rotary member to said rotary element so that movement of the rotary member is controlled by the escapement and for disengaging said rotary member from said rotary element so that the rotary member may be manually rotated forwardly or backwardly for winding or unwinding said driving spring while presetting the time of operation of the switch.

5. In combination, a switch arranged to control an electrical circuit, and mechanism for controlling said switch, said switch comprising a rotary member, and said mechanism comprising a spring operatively connected to said rotary member for driving said rotary member, an escapement, a rotary element controlled by said escapement, and disengagable clutching means comprising inter-engaging toothed members for positively clutching said rotary member to said rotary element so that movement of the rotary member is controlled by the escapement and for disengaging said rotary member from said rotary element so that the rotary member may be martl ually rotated forwardly or backwardly for winding or unwinding said driving spring while,` presetting the time of operation of the switch, said toothed members being disengageable by axial movement of said rotary member.

6. In combination, a switch arranged to control an electrical circuit, and clockwork mechanism for controlling said switch, said switch com prising a rotary member, the movement of which is controlled by said mechanism, said switch in cluding contact elements mounted on iiexible mounting members, said mounting members being arranged for engagement by the rotary member during its movement in one direction t0 close the circuit but arranged when engaged by the rotary member during its movement in the opposite direction to provide no closure of the circuit of more than momentary duration.

7. In combination, a switch arranged to control an electrical circuit, and clockwork mechanism for controlling said switch, said switch comprising a rotary member, the movement ol which is controlled by said mechanism, said switch including contact elements mounted on exible mounting members, said mounting members being arranged for engagement by the rotary member, the relative length of the iiexible members with 'respect to the points of engagement thereof by the rotary member being such as to close the circuit during movement of the rotary member in one direction, but when engaged by the rotary member during its movement in the opposite direction to provide no closure of the circuit of more than momentary duration.

ROLAND RING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 632,763 Smith Sept. 12, 1899 1,277,464 Norwood Sept. 2, 1918 1,666,129 Frantz Apr. 17, 1928 1,773,697 Rhodes Aug. 19, 1930 1,971,210 Cauli Aug. 21, 1934 

